Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

When Li Xiangdong returned to the room, he saw that Li Xiaojiang had already cut all the ribbonfish into sections with scissors. He randomly took out two sections from the basin and examined them.

"Well done, it's quite clean."

Li Xiaojiang chuckled after being praised, "Third Uncle, do we still need these fish heads and tails?"

"No need, give it to Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang."

Li Xiangdong carried a basin of vegetables, and Li Xiaojiang and the others followed him out of the house.

Arriving at the pond in the courtyard, Li Xiaojiang took out the dog's broken bowl from the back room, while Li Xiangdong picked out fish heads and tails from the basin.

Seeing Li Xiaotao scoop a fish head out of the basin and throw it on the ground, Li Xiaohai stood on tiptoe and said anxiously, "Dad, get me one too, I want to feed Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang!"

Li Xiangdong kicked his butt, "What are you yelling for? Step back, or you'll smell like fish on yourself. Your mother will deal with you when we get back to the house."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaohai probably recalled the scene when Li Ersao came into the house and beat Li Xiaobo, so he stopped shouting.

Li Xiaotao, who was standing to the side, wanted to join in, but Li Xiangdong glared at him.

"Go back inside and wash your hands!"

"Hehe, Uncle, I'll go back to my room and wash my hands now."

Seeing that the ribbonfish had been cleaned and Li Xiaotao was waiting to eat, he naturally didn't say anything to object and obediently turned around and walked into his house.

Li Xiangdong picked out all the fish heads and tails from the basin and threw them into the broken bowl. Li Xiaojiang, holding the bowl, called the two dogs that were circling the pool towards the back room, while Li Xiaohai followed behind the two dogs.

After cleaning the ribbonfish segments in the basin, Li Xiangdong carried the basin into his small kitchen. Because his childhood friend Qian Bin, who worked as a chef in a state-run restaurant, was there, the kitchen was fully equipped with all kinds of seasonings.

I didn't have cooking wine, so I used bulk wine. The ribbonfish that my company gave me weren't very big, so I marinated them for half an hour to let them absorb the flavor, and then coated them with egg and flour.

The ribbonfish pieces were fried in oil for less than a minute, and the aroma that filled the yard made people's mouths water.

"It's so fragrant!"

Li Xiangdong, who was focused on frying ribbonfish, turned his head to look at the door of the small kitchen when he heard Li Xiaobo's voice.

"come over."

Hearing the greeting, Li Xiaobo, carrying a bowl of noodles, walked in and stopped behind Li Xiangdong.

"Be careful, it's hot."

Li Xiangdong picked up two pieces of fried ribbonfish with his chopsticks and put them into Li Xiaobo's bowl.

"How's the saltiness?"

"Delicious, Uncle! Just the right amount of salt or blandness."

"Be careful of the thorns."

After Li Xiangdong sent Li Xiaobo away, Li Xiaohai, who was squatting outside the door, was unhappy.

"Dad, I want to eat too."

"Wait a minute, what's the rush? I'm just letting your brother Xiaobo taste the saltiness."

Zhou Yuqin also prepared noodles for lunch. Li Xiaohai wanted to eat ribbonfish but didn't get his wish. He held his bowl, stopped eating his noodles, and kept staring at Li Xiaobo.

"For you to eat."

Li Xiaobo set aside a piece and put it into Li Xiaohai's bowl, only then did Li Xiaohai smile.

The ribbonfish provided by the company were not very big, so there weren't many after frying. Li Xiangdong divided the fried ribbonfish pieces into two bowls and then asked Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao to take them to the main living room.

Li Xiangdong cooked himself a bowl of noodles and walked towards the main room from the small kitchen.

Although everyone ate their own lunch, the Li family gathered in the main living room because they had agreed beforehand to eat ribbonfish together.

"Dongzi, sit down quickly."

Brother Li invited Li Xiangdong, who had just entered the house, to sit down next to him. He picked up a bottle of strong liquor from the table and poured two ounces into the empty cup in front of Li Xiangdong.

"Third brother, your cooking skills are pretty good, and it tastes quite good."

These words were spoken by Li's father. It was rare for him to praise Li Xiangdong, but he was very happy to have such a good meal and drinks today.

"Uncle's cooking is really delicious!"

Just like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit, Li Xiaotao devoured a piece of ribbonfish in a few bites. He didn't have to worry about bones, so he could eat it with peace of mind.

"good to eat!"

Li Xiaotao ate another piece, then stopped. He ate quickly, but that didn't mean he would fight with his younger siblings for food. He was counting the pieces while he was eating.

"Taozi, Xiaobo, you two come here."

Li Xiangdong called the two of them over, picked up the ribbonfish from the table with his chopsticks, and put two more pieces in each of their bowls.

Li Xiaotao was someone he had promised this morning. As for Li Xiaobo, well, that kid's ears were pinched red by his mother just now because of something he said, so this was his way of making up for it.

"Let's go back and eat."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Li Xiaobo happily sat back down at the small dining table. Li Xiaotao didn't leave; he put the ribbonfish back in his bowl.

"Uncle, I've eaten quite a lot. Give these two pieces to my great-grandmother. I won't eat any more."

Li Xiangdong really didn't expect Li Xiaotao to behave like this; he even put back the meat that was almost in his mouth.

"Hehe, Third Uncle."

Li Xiaotao smiled and moved closer to Li Xiangdong, "Third Uncle, does your company still give out ribbonfish for Chinese New Year?"

Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "I think it will be issued. It's okay. Even if it isn't, you can buy it at the department store. Uncle will make it for you again during the New Year."

"Okay, Uncle."

Li Xiaotao returned to the small dining table to eat, satisfied. Li Xiangdong picked up his cup and clinked glasses with his brother Li, who looked helpless.

"Is it yummy?"

Li Xiangdong put down his wine glass and looked at Li Xiaozhu, who was sitting in Zhou Yuqin's lap.

Mmm~ It smells good~

"Oh, so you know what fragrance is now?"

Li Xiangdong teased his daughter a few times and then didn't disturb her lunch.

Time passed slowly, and after a lively lunch, Li Xiangdong helped Zhou Yuqin clean up the dishes and carried Li Xiaozhu, who was playing in the yard, back into the house.

The afternoon was spent chasing Li Xiaozhu all over the yard. After dinner, Li Xiangdong, exhausted, washed up and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

As dusk fell, the children who had been huddled together in Li Xiaomei and her sister's room reading comic books were called back inside by their parents.

"You've gotten yourself all covered in dirt again. What do you do all day? Roll around on the floor?"

Li Ersao pressed down on Li Xiaobo, whose face and hands were black and dirty, to help him wash up. A basin of clean water turned black before Li Xiaobo finally cleaned himself up.

"go to bed!"

Li Xiaobo was chased by Li Ersao to take off his shoes and get on the kang (a heated brick bed). However, after getting on the kang, Li Xiaobo was in no hurry to take off his clothes and get into bed. It wasn't until he was all tidied up and ready to sleep that Li Ersao slapped him.

Li Xiaobo stopped playing around, quickly stripped naked, pulled back the covers, and crawled inside.

Why does it smell so fishy?

Li Ersao frowned and looked in the direction from which the smell was coming from, towards Li Xiaobo.

"Go to sleep. I bet that girl Xiaoqi was rubbing her hands against Xiaobo's blanket after she finished touching the ribbonfish."

Brother Li yawned, and with a "click," he reached out and pulled the light cord, instantly plunging the room into darkness.

Li Xiaobo, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), felt his foot step on something. He didn't know what it was, so he crawled under the covers and reached out to touch it...

"snake!"

Upon touching the ribbonfish, Li Xiaobo thought there was a snake in his bed, so he instinctively threw the 'snake' out of his hand.

Li Erge, who was just about to fall asleep, was woken up by his son shouting "snake." He instantly became alert, but before he could get up, something fishy and smelly landed on his face.

Cao!

Brother Li shuddered, his hair standing on end, and he felt the urge to urinate...

P.S.: Here's the third update! Please urge me to update more and support me with your love!